Apparatus for forming cornices or ornamental moldings from plaster-of-paris.



PATENTED JAN. 6, 1903.

I, L. GONKLING. APPARATUS FOR FORMING GORNIGES 0R ORNAMENTAL MOLDINGS FROM PLASTER OP PARIS.'

APPLICATION FILED 1330.26, 1901.

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NO MODEL.

WITNESSES:

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No. 717,545. PATENTED JAN. 6, 1903' I. L. CONKLING.

APPARATUS FOR FORMING GORNIGES OR ORNAMENTAL MOLDINGS FROM PLASTEE 0F PARIS. unmnnm FILED mm. as, 1901. 2 SHEETS SHEET 2' no menu.

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IRA LEWIS CONKLING, OF PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA.

SPECIFICATION formingpart of Letters Patent No. 717,545, dated January 6, 1903. Application filed December 26, 1901. Serial No. 87,262. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern.-

Be itknown that 1, IRA Lnwrs CONKLING, a citizen of the United States, residing in the city and county of Philadelphia, in the State of Pennsylvania, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Apparatus for Forming Oornices or Ornamental Moldings from Plaster-of-Paris'or Kindred Material, of which the following is a specification.

Cornices and moldings and kindred structures, formed of plaster of paris or kindred material, are usually under the existing practice built up by the application of successive masses or layers of the selected material in a plastic condition upon and along the surface in process of formation or development, and shaped by asuitable shaping devicernanually carried along in contact with the surface of the structure, after each such applicationof a mass or layer, the material in its successive applications being simply poured or de-' posited upon the surface in process of formation, and thereupon, before it sets, shaped by the action of the manually carried shaper.

The operation of building up and shaping straight moldings in the manner referred to, and which is laborious and expensive, has hitherto been carried on Without the aid of machinery, so far as I am aware. 1

It is the object of my invention to provide an organized apparatus of, a simple and inexpensive character, by the aid of which the shaping operation referred to may be expe ditiously and accurately performed as often as required in the progress of the work.

By the employment of my apparatus, the amount of time and labor required to produce a given piece of molding is very materially diminished, while the finish and uniformity of the molding produced are enhanced.

In the accompanying drawings I illustrate an apparatus embodying a convenient construction of my invention.

Variations in the form and organization of the machine may, however, be made at will of the constructor, in accordance with the character of the work to be performed, or.

otherwise without departure from the spirit of my invention.

In the accompanying drawings,

Figure 1 is a view in side elevation, and

Figure 2 a view in top plan, of an apparatus embodying my invention.

Figure 3 is a transverse, vertical sectional elevation on the dotted line 38 of Figure 1.

Figure 4 is a view in perspective of the weighted or balanced templet carrying arms.

Figure 5 is a view in perspective of a templet of a character I find it convenient to employ in the apparatus.

In the accompanying drawings,

1 represents any suitable framework, provided with the operating table 2. 4 is a carriage supported upon andlongitudinally movable with respect to the superstructure of the framework, said carriage being conveniently provided with supporting plates 6, which take into suitable slideways formed on the inner faces of two parallel beams included in said superstructure. (See Fig. 3.)

Supported in suitable bearings 7 in the under portion of' said carriage is a rock-shaft 8 upon which are mounted for rotation therewith the templet carrying arms 9, the opposing faces of which are provided each with,

a suitable groove 10 to receive a templet 11, which may be secured therein by the tightening up of suitable thumb-screws 12, applied to said arms 9.

I Ianifestly the templet may be secured in the arms at such elevation with respect to a mass of material operated upon, as may be desired.

The templet carrying arms 9 are as seen in Figure iindependently mounted upon said rock shaft 8, being securedin their selected positions upon said shaft by the tightening up of the set screws 3 which bear or bind against said shaft.

Said arms 9 may, therefore, be set to receive templets of any selected width according to the breadth of the molding to be formed.

The templet, of course, is, as shown in Figure 5 of the drawings, provided with an act ing face 13, which is, of course, to be of such profile or outline, as may be selected. I prefer to so construct the apparatus that the templet arms and templet may occupy an acting and an idle or non-active position alternately.

In Figure 1 of the drawings I have shown the templet arms, in full lines, as down in their acting position, and have also indicated them, in dotted lines, in their non-active position. The arms are preferably in their acting position when the carriage travels in one direction, and in their non-active position when it travels in the opposite direction.

I prefer in practice to manually swing said arms from one adjustment or position to another, and, in order to render such operation as easily performed as possible, I prefer to equip the rock shaft 8 with what may be termed a balance arm 14, equipped with any suitable block or weight serving to counterbalance the depending arms and templet.

16 are vertically arranged stop plates, which are encountered by the arms 9 as the latter are swung upward to their non-active positions, and limit the ascent of said arms. The weight 15, when said arms have been swung to the position in which they make contact with said stop plates, serves, by its counterbalanoing action, to maintain said arms in such position.

As the machine is organized, the arms are held down in position to act upon a mass of material upon the table 2, when the carriage travels from right to left (Figure 1) and, in order that the resistance of the material encountered by the templet may not cause said arms to swing back behind the carriage, as opposed to keeping the desired vertical position shown in Figure 1, the transversely extending bar 17, forming part of the carriage 4:, is arranged in such position that the projecting upper ends 18 of said arms 9, when in vertical position, make contact with it. Said bar 17 accordingly operates as a stop to maintain said arms in proper acting position.

40 indicates a mass of plaster of paris or other material upon which the machine is assumed to be at work. The operation of the apparatus so far described will be readily understood.

After a mass of the selected material has been placed in position upon the table 2, said mass being disposed over a suitable wooden frame or core if desired,the arms 9 are swung down into acting position, and thereupon the carriage 4 is caused to travel from the right to the left hand end of the work, (Fig. l) the acting face of the templet in such travel riding upon the surface of the material and imparting to it a conformation approximately corresponding to its own.

The arms and templet are then elevated to the non-acting position, and the carriage returned to the right hand end of the work.

A further layer or charge of the plaster of paris or kindred material employed is then poured or deposited upon the face of the work, the containing vessel being preferably carried along over said work, so that the material is deposited in as uniform a layer as possibie. The poured material half sets as soon as it comes in contact with the face of the work, and thus retains itself in position.

After the deposit of the layer, said templet arms are lowered into acting position, and the carriage again caused to travel from the right hand end of the work to the left hand end.

In such second travel of the acting face of the templet over the material, the face of the latter (the added layer serving to build up and define the projecting portions of the pattern, as will be understood by those familiar with operations of this character) will be caused to still more closely approximate its final form.

These operations are repeated,applications of additional material to the face of the work alternating with the travel of the templet thereover, in the manner described, until the work is completed.

At times, especially as the work nears completion, the templet may be caused to travel a number of times in succession along the work without intervening additions of material.

As the accretions of material gradually thicken or increase the vertical dimensions of the piece of work, the templet may be, if desired, elevated or upwardly adjusted in the arms 9, to conform thereto though such elevation is unnecessary in practice.

While any desired means may be resorted to for occasioning the travel of the carriage, I find the mechanism depicted in the accompanying drawings a very efficient apparatus for the purpose.

19 and 20 are a pair of sprocket wheels located respectively at the respective ends of the framework superstructure, upon which wheels is mounted a sprocket chain 21, the lower division of which, extending along the top of the carriage 4:, is affixed thereto by any suitable means.

22 is a driven bevel gear mounted upon the axle of the sprocket wheel 19, and 23 is a driving bevel gear inter-meshed therewith.

24 is a driven gear mounted upon the shaft of the bevel gear 23, and 25 is a driving gear meshed with the driven gear 24.

26,29, 30, are fast and loose pulleys,mounted upon the shaft of the wheel 25, and 27 are belt shifting devices associated with said fast and loose pulleys, the arrangement of said fast and loose pulleys and belt shifting devices being one familiar and usual in the mechanical arts.

28 is a slide bar upon which the belt shifting devices 27 are mounted and carried.

Two belts, not shown are caused to travel in opposite directions, and occupy according to the position of the belt shifting device 27, positions upon the loose pulley 26 and the loose pulley 30, respectively,or upon the loose pulley 26 and the fast pulley 29, respectively,or upon the loose pulley 30 and the fast pulley29, respectively.

When the belts are in the set first described the gear 25 will be stationary,-and when the belts are in either of the two sets last described, the gear 25 will be driven in one direction or another according to the direction of travel of the belt engaged with the fast pulley 29.

Connected to the slide bar 28 is a link 31, in turn secured to the lever 32 which is at its lower end pivotally connected to the framework.

33 is a slide bar mounted in any suitable bearings 34, and extending along the superstructure at one side thereof. Said slide bar 33, which is connected to the lever 32 by a connecting pin, is provided with contact blocks 35, suitably located in accordance with the set of the parts.

39 is a contact device supported on thecarriage 4, embracing but free for longitudinal movement with respect to the slide bar 33, said contact device being adapted to encounter the blocks 35 alternately as the carriage reaches the respective ends of its path.

As will be understood, as the apparatus is adjusted and arranged, a sliding movement of the bar 33, due to the encounter of the device 39 against a block 35, occasions through the lever 32 the link 31 and slide bar 28, a shifting of the belts, sufficient to carry the belt on the fast pulley to the appropriate adjacent loose pulley, but not sufficient to carry the other belt from its loose pulley to the fast pulley; consequently, said encounter automatically causes the carriage to come to a standstill when it reaches the limit of its desired movement at either end of the apparatus.

It is obvious, however, that by differently proportioning the parts, the efiect upon the belt shifters due to the encounter of the device 39 against a block 35 could be so far in: creased that instead of moving the belts simply to a position in which the carriage would come to a standstill, said belts would be so far moved as to carry the belt which was on the loose pulley to the fast pulley which would cause the driving apparatus and sprocket chain 21 to movein the opposite direction,whereby the direction of travel of the carriage would be automatically reversed at each end of its path of travel.

As stated, in the employment of the appa ratus in the best method known to me, it is desirable ,to alternate the travel of the templet in acting position along the face of the work,--with applications of fresh material to the surface of thework. The automatic stopping of the carriage, as will be understood, enables the applications of fresh material to be made. I also provide manually operated means whereby the travel of the carriage may becaused to temporarily cease whenever desired, whether it has reached the end of its path or not.

36 is a flexible connection (see Figure 1) made fast as to one end to the right hand end of the structure, and as to its other end pass ing through a guide opening ina plate 37 (see Figure 2,) and made fast to the upper end of the lever 32. The guide opening referred to occupies a position in the plate 37 which is directly opposite to the upper end of the le-.

ver 32, when the latter is in the position which holds the belt shifting devices 27 in position to keep the belts'which they'control engaged with the two loose pulleys.

Manifestly,therefore,traction manually exerted upon the flexible connection 36, the body of which hangs in a festoon as shown, will accuratelydraw the lever 32 to a position in which the belts will be both engaged with the loose pulleys, and the carriage will, therefore, come to rest.

The result referred to is, as will be understood, brought about by a mere pull upon the flexible connection 36, without any necessity for the workman giving attention to bringing the lever 32 to its position, the arrangement described insuring that the pull upon the flexible connection will produce the desired result without care or attention.

I prefer to provide guiding or anti-friction rollers in the vicinity of the guide opening in the plate 37, through, around, or over which rollers the flexible connection 36 may extend.

38 is a flexible connection secured as to one end to the right hand end portion'of the slide bar 33, as shown in Figure 1, (attachment being for instance conveniently made directly to a contact block 35) and secured as to its other end to the lever 32.

Manifestly, a pull exerted upon said flexible connection 38 in one direction or another will cause the corresponding movementof the slide bar 33 andlever 32, and the consequent desired movement of the slide 28, for carrying the desired belt upon the fast pulley 29 to occasion the driving of the gears and the travel of the carriage in the desired direction.

The preferred construction of the templet, the employment of which my invention contemplates, is one consisting of a plate-like structure of metal or other material having an edge suitably formed to impart to the plaster of paris or other material the desired outline, the acting edge of the templet working directly against the material, my invention beingin many of the claims distinguished in this respect fromapparatus in which a shaping roller is employed."

While my invention is in the form shown bestadapted to make what I term straight moldings, it is obvious that by suitable modification of the apparatus within the spirit and scope of the invention and claims, moldings of continuous character but. axially curved may be produced if desired.

Having thus described my invention, I claim 1. An apparatusforshaping plaster of paris and kindred material into cornices moldings and the like, including a support for the material acted upon, a templet having an edge adapted to form into a selected shape the material acted upon, and means for adj ustably supporting said templet-in position to act on said material.

2. An apparatus for shaping plaster of paris and kindred material into cornices moldings and the like, including a templet having an edge adapted to impart a selected profile to the material acted upon, means for supporting said templet in position to act on material, and means for causing the travel of the templet with respect to the material.

3. An apparatus for shaping plaster of paris and kindred material into cornices, moldings and the like, including a support for the material, and a templet having an edge adapted to impart a selected form to the material on which it acts, means for causing the travel of one of said devices with respect to the other, and means for adjusting the vertical set of the templet.

4. An apparatus for shaping plaster of paris and kindred material into cornices, moldings and the like, including a templet having an edge adapted to fashion the material acted upon by it to a given conformation, means for supporting said templet alternately in acting and non-acting position, and means for causing the travel of the templet with respect to the material.

5. In an apparatus for shaping plaster of paris and kindred material into cornices, moldings and the like, in combination, a framework, a carriage supported on said framework and adapted to have movement longitudinally with respect thereto, a templet supported on said carriage, and having an edge adapted to impart a selected conformation to the material acted upon, and means for occasioning the movement of said carriage.

6. An apparatus forshaping plaster of paris and kindred material into cornices, moldings and the like, in combination, a support, a carriage supported on said support and free to travel longitudinally thereof, means for occasioning the travel of said carriage, a templet having an edge adapted to shape the material acted upon by it, and means by which said templet is adjustably connected to said carriage.

7. An apparatus forshaping plasterof paris and kindred material into moldings, including a supporting frame, a carriage mounted for travel through said frame, a depending structure mounted, free for swinging movement, on said carriage, and a templet mounted on said depending structure.

8. In an apparatus for shaping plaster of paris and kindred material into moldings in combination, 'a supporting frame, a carriage mounted for travel through said frame, a depending structure mounted free for swinging movement on said carriage, and a templet mounted on said depending device and free for adjustment with respect thereto. I

9. In an apparatus for shaping plaster of paris and kindred material into cornices or moldings, a supporting frame, a carriage mounted for travel on said frame, a depending structure mounted free for swinging movement on said carriage, a templet mounted on said depending structure, and a balance Weight connected with said depending structure.

10. In an apparatus for shaping plaster of paris and kindred material into straight or continuous moldings, in combination,a framework, a carriage mounted on said frame-work and free for longitudinal movement with respect thereto, a swinging structure adapted to support a templet, means for limiting the rearward movement of said swinging structure, and means for limiting the upward movement of said swinging structure.

11. In an apparatus for shaping plaster of paris and kindred material into cornices or moldings, in combination, a carriage, a pair of templet supporting arms, the opposing faces of which embody a seat for a templet, and means for securing a templet in said seat.

12. In an apparatus for shaping plaster of paris and kindred material into cornices or moldings, in combination, a carriage, a rockshaft, arms mounted on said shaft, the lower portions of which arms are adapted to support a templet, and a member of said carriage arranged to present in the path of said arms and limit their rearward movement.

13. In an apparatus for shaping plaster of paris and kindred material into straight moldings and the like, in combination, a carriage, a rock-shaft, arms mounted on said shaft, a templet carried in the lower portions of said arms, a member of said carriage arranged to present in the path of said arms and limit their rearward movement, and a member of said carriage arranged to present in the path of said arms to limit their upward movement.

14. In an apparatus for shaping plaster of paris and kindred material into straight or continuous moldings and the like, in combination, a frame-work, a carriage, a templet supporting structure depending upon said carriage, a traveling flexible connection mounted on suitable wheels, to which connection said carriage is connected, and means for occasioning the positive rotation alternately in opposite directions of one of said wheels.

15. In an apparatus for shaping plaster of paris and kindred material into straight or continuous moldings,in combination,a framework, a carriage, a templet supporting structure depending upon said carriage, a sprocket chain mounted on suitable wheels to which said carriage is connected, means for occa-" vices are mounted, a link connected to said sliding device, a lever connected to said link, a slide bar connected to said lever, and having contact blocks or the like, and a contact device carried by said carriage, and adapted to engage said contact blocks.

17. In an apparatus for shaping plaster'of paris and kindred material into cornices [1101(1- ings and the like, a carriage, means for occasioning the travel of the carriage, and templet carrying arms supported on said carriage and adapted to be moved into and out way, a carriage adapted to travel along said way, a slide bar having contact blocks or the like, a contact structure carried on said carriage and adapted to engage said contact blocks, pulley wheels, a belt shifting device associated with said wheels, a lever and a link through which movement of the slide bar is communicated to said belt shifting device, and carriage driving mechanism associated with said pulleys, substantially as set forth.

20. In an apparatus for shaping plaster of paris and kindred material into straighter continuous moldings and the like, a supporting frame-work, a carriage, driving mechanism for the carriage, fast and loose pulleys associated with said driving mechanism, belt shifting mechanism connected with said pulleys, a flexible connection, and a guide through which said flexible connection extends, said flexible connection being secured to a member or connection of said belt shifting mechanism, which is opposite said guide when said mechanism is in the position in which belts controlled by it are on the loose pulleys.

21. In an apparatus for shaping plaster of paris and kindred material into straight or continuous moldings and the like, in combination, the supporting structure, the carriage, the templet supported on said carriage, the driving mechanism for the carriage, pulleys associated with said driving mechanism, belt shifting devices associated with said pulleys, the lever 32 connected with said belt shifting devices, a structure embodying a guide opening, and a flexible connection extending through said guide opening and made fast to said lever, substantially as set forth.

22. In an apparatus for shaping plaster of paris and kindred material into straight moldings and the like, in combination, the supporting structure, the carriage, the templet supported on said carriage, the driving mechanism for the carriage, pulleys associated with said driving mechanism, belt shifting devices associated with said pulleys, the lever 32 connected with said belt shifting devices, and a flexible connection made fast to said lever, substantially as set forth.

23. In'an apparatus for shaping plaster of paris and kindred material into cornices, continuous moldings and the like, in combination, a traveling carriage, a pair of templet supporting arms, mounted on said carriage, and one of which arms is free for adjustment toward and from the other, and a templet supported by said respective arms.

24. In an apparatus for forming plaster of paris or kindred material'into moldings, cornices, and'the like, in combinatioma traveling conveyer having a pair of templet supporting arms, said arms being adapted to support between them and in various positions of vertical adjustment, a templet.

25. In an apparatus for forming plaster of paris or kindred material into moldings, cornices, and the like, in combination, a traveling conveyer having a pair of templet supporting arms, said arms being adapted to sup-' port between them and in various positions of vertical adjustment, a templet, said arms being free for adjustment the one toward and from the other.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing as my invention I have hereunto signed my name this 13th day of December,A. D. 1901.

IRA LEWIS OONKLING.

In presence of- S. SALOME BROOKE, THOS. K. LANCASTER. 

